Finding Family
by I 4 2 write
Summary: How I would like to see Rumple's first meeting with Lucy go
1. Chapter 1

Seeing that woman wearing that dress had done something to Detective Weaver. He'd seen a woman dressed like that before. He was sure of that somehow. It was more feelings than memories that were stirred in him. Those feelings were strong, but why? If he had felt so strongly for someone, why couldn't he remember her? He couldn't focus clearly when he tried, but a young girl's voice broke him from his thoughts anyway.

"I'm not going to have to eat a poisoned apple tart to get you to believe the way you did to Grandma Emma, am I?"

The man with the girl, apparently her father, was growing exasperated.

"For the last time, fairy takes aren't real, and I do not have a daughter. Now we're going to the police station, and they can try to find your real parents," he told her. She looked angry at that.

"You are not leaving me with Captain Hook! Are you crazy?"

Captain Hook. Why did hearing that name make him want to rip someone's heart out- literally? He had vague memories of watching Peter Pan as a child. Oddly, he'd never liked Peter Pan any better than Hook. Something about that movie bothered him. Still, the idea of Captain Hook bothered him more than any other book character. He supposed the little girl had an active imagination and meant Officer Rodgers. He did have a fake hand, and Weaver had never liked him. That didn't mean he was a fictional character though. The little girl turned and saw him. She dragged the man she claimed was her father over to him.

"Here! If anyone can help us, he can!"

Weaver had no idea what she was talking about. He'd never seen her before, and he never dressed like a policeman. Why did she think he could help her? Things got even stranger when she grinned at him.

"Hello great grandfather."

"Great grandfather?" Had this girl lost her grip on reality completely? Still- something in him went out to the girl. "I'm sorry, I don't even have any children." That felt so wrong saying that.

"Yes you do!" She insisted. She studied him a moment. "You- you really aren't awake are you? I thought if anybody would know the truth it would be you."

"Look he's awake, ok?" The man with her told her. "He's moving around, out of bed. And don't you know better than to talk to strangers?"

"He isn't a stranger. None of us are strangers. Everyone just needs to remember." The little girl looked back at him. "A name helped you last time. My grandma's name, Emma. It's going to hurt to remember. I'm sorry, but I know you'd never want to forget your family. Maybe another name will help. I know you must have some way to remember." The younger man was pulling her away, and she began to shout "Your first son was Baelfire! I'm his grand daughter, Lucy. You have another son, Gideon, and your wife's name is Belle! I never met them but they're in this book. Just take it and look at it. It's how I know who you are."

Those names. It was as if they created a door in some sort of mental wall.

"Wait a second. Let me see that," he told her. She handed him the book, and he began to look through. There were pictures that were clearly of him. Him at a spinning wheel. Him holding a baby. Him with a woman in a blue dress. The same dress he's seen on that woman earlier that day that had touched something in his mind.

All at once memories whirled through his brain. Bae! His beloved son as a baby, reaching up and touching his nose. Happy times together, then being separated, and losing him forever. Of course he remembered! How could he ever forget him? Belle and Gideon! It seemed like they'd just celebrated Gideon's first birthday. Now he had no idea where they were. More memories returned, and he knew why he'd ended up cursed. He'd tried to help Henry against Tremaine. Now he'd lost his family! Oh, she was going to suffer for that, and he would find them and get them back to matter how long it took! He hadn't even realized his hands were clenched into fists until he felt the girl lightly brush her hand against his.

"Hi, great- grandpa Rumple. I'm Lucy." She squeezed his hand, having broken away from her father. Lucy. He'd never met her. No one had seen Henry for several years while he traveled between alternate versions of their stories. Henry had mentioned a daughter when he'd come to him for help. He hadn't brought her with him, and Rumple remembered being disappointed. She was looking at him with trust now, even knowing who he was. "And we're going to find our family. All of them."

He gave her hand a squeeze in return. She smiled up at him, knowing that he knew the truth.

"Look, sir, I'm sorry if she bothered you," Henry apologized. His grandson, and he had no idea who he was.

"No, it's quite all right. In fact-" He pulled out his badge. "Why don't you let me take things from here? I'll see to it she finds her family." Lucy smiled at those last words. Her great- grandfather would help her. She knew what he really meant.

"Um- ok thanks, but she doesn't like cops, apparently," Henry told him. Lucy rolled her eyes.

"I never said I don't like cops. I said I don't want to be left with Captain Hook."

Henry looked at his daughter in confusion, but nodded.

"OK then. Go with him."

Rumple took Lucy's hand, and started to lead her back to his place. Once they were out of hearing range, she asked "You do remember now, don't you."

"Yes I do, thanks to you. And the others will too. Do you know where anyone else is?"

She shook her head and answered.

"Tremaine wanted us all scattered. But we'll find them. You found Grandpa Bae." It was so strange thinking Bae was a grandfather, but looking at Lucy and seeing her determination, he could see shades of his son in her. "We'll find everyone and help them remember."

"We will indeed, wherever they are. That's a promise."

"And you never break promises. I know." She smiled confidently. "Now we just need one last thing."

"Let me guess, an operation name."

"Yup," Lucy confirmed.

Rumple rolled his eyes. "You are most definitely your father's daughter. I take it you have something in mind?"

She thought a moment.

"Well Dad and Grandma Emma had operation Cobra. We want something like that, something that doesn't give away what we're up to. Why don't we have Operation- Paloma?"

Paloma, Spanish for dove. That worked well enough.

"Operation Paloma it is."

He had no idea where his wife and son were, if they were together, or if they had any memory of him. It was a nightmare, but there was a bright spot in it. He had his great- grandchild with him. She trusted him, and they were working together. They had each other, and they had hope. That would make all the difference.


	2. Chapter 2

Once he brought Lucy to his apartment, Rumple realized how much his place looked and felt like a bachelor pad. It was tidy, well organized, and furnished comfortably enough, but it felt empty. There were no family photos, and few personal possessions. So, so different from the home he had shared with his wife and son. Having Lucy there already made it feel more like a home. He wasn't sure where to put her for right now. He had only one bedroom. He supposed he would take the couch. No doubt she was tired and he wouldn't have felt right sleeping in a nice bed while she slept on the couch. First though, he'd bet she was hungry.

"I'm guessing you'd like something to eat?"

"Yes please," she answered.

Rumple wouldn't have said he was a great chef, but he could cook well enough to live on. He'd cooked the meals for Bae and himself back in the Enchanted Forrest, after all. There weren't many options in his kitchen though. Living alone, there wasn't much point to cooking. He opened up a can of soup, poured it into a pan to heat, and put some bread in the toaster to go with it.

"Could I have some hot chocolate please?" Lucy asked. Rumple nodded. He put the kettle on and got out the chocolate powder. He took out a mug for each of them, and felt his heart clench as he thought of the chipped teacup. Belle wouldn't remember that and what it had stood for now. She might not even remember Gideon. He could only hope they were together.

He wasn't sure what exactly to say to Lucy. He loved children. He always had. It was just that he knew nothing about Lucy. Henry hadn't told him much. She didn't need any encouragement to talk though.

"Dad's being so stubborn about this," she complained.

"He always was," Rumple told her. "He was just about your age when he went looking for your grandmother." Actually, what age was Henry supposed to be now? He looked the same as the last time Rumple had seen him, but that meant nothing. Everyone could have been frozen at the same age for decades. Now that was a terrible thought. What if Belle and Gideon weren't frozen too? They could be dead of old age by now. Rumple pushed the thought away. Lucy had not been cursed with everyone else. She was about the age he would expect her to be.

"He has the heart of the truest believer. I thought it would be easier with him," she told him.

"He's just not the real him right now," Rumple assured her gently. Parental instinct was taking over quickly, and he found his tone and mannerisms with her were the way they would be with his own child. Lucy was family, after all. He buttered the toast, and divided the soup into two bowls. By then the water was hot. He poured it into two mugs, stirred in the chocolate, and added a liberal amount of cinnamon to it. Lucy grinned seeing the cinnamon.

"How did you know?" she asked. Rumple chuckled.

"Your great- grandmother Snow, your grandma Emma, and your father all like it. After I tried it the first time I liked it myself actually."

He set the food on the table, and they carried on a conversation as they ate.

"You don't know where your mother is, Lucy? Who's been taking care of you?"

"I was in the Enchanted Forrest until not too long ago," she told him. "I was separated from my family for awhile, but it wasn't too hard to find help. I was spared from being brought over with the curse, and after it hit the fairies who were left helped me come here."

Rumple couldn't keep the grimace off his face at the mention of fairies. At best, he felt they were useless. At least Lucy was with him now. She continued her story.

"Once I got here, I tried to find my dad. I found the library and they had a phone book. I didn't know how to use those computer- things." Rumple supposed she' never seen technology before. It was impressive she was able to blend in with this world so well. He guessed Henry had told her a few things about this world, but she must have had to guess at a lot. "Then I asked a few people for some money, enough to get on a bus, and went to his place."

He didn't like the idea of her wondering the streets alone one bit. A less precocious child would have been in big trouble.

"At the library, you didn't happen to see Belle?" It was a long shot, he knew, but worth a try. She shook her head.

"No. I think Tremaine wanted to spread everyone out a much as she can, so families can't find each other."

Rumple thought about the people he now remembered and had seen around Hyperion Heights. Regina- Roni now- Hook, and a few others. They were all worried about losing their homes, being driven away. It was a last cruel twist to the curse. People wouldn't just forget their loved ones. They would have no hope of ever finding them. Not all that many were in Hyperion Heights, and Rumple knew not everyone there had come from the world he had once known either. It wouldn't be easy to find everyone, but at least they had a starting point.

They finished their meal, and it was time for bed. Luckily Lucy had a few things with her. Rumple tucked her in and she closed her eyes, but she didn't go to sleep yet.

"Tell me about Grandpa Bae? Dad told me he never had the chance to really know him."

Rumple was silent a moment. His throat felt like it wanted to close, but he told her about the son who had died far too soon, sacrificing himself.

"He was probably the bravest man I've ever known, and he loved Emma and your father more than anything. He was tricked into making a sacrifice to save me. I did what I could to save him, but the result wasn't really an existence for either of us. He had Emma undo what I'd done so I could think clearly again and tell them who the witch was. He wanted Emma and your dad to have a chance. At the time, Henry had false memories. He didn't even know who his father was when we lost him."

"Did they have any time at all together before that? Will Dad have any memories of him once he remembers again?" Rumple nodded.

"Oh yes. Bae took him out for pizza in New York. They sparred together a few times. They didn't have the chance to build many memories, but there were a few. When your dad became the Author, I know he was tempted to use his power to bring Bae back. It doesn't work that way though. I'm a rare exception, but normally, there's no way to bring the dead back."

"Zeus did for Hook," Lucy said bitterly.

"I'll never understand that either Lucy," Rumple told her. Hook had nearly killed them all. The best that could be said about him was he undid his own mistake. If anyone was a true hero and deserved to be brought back, it was Bae. "I'll tell you more about him in the morning. Get some sleep now."

"Ok. Goodnight great- grandpa Rumple. And thank you."

It was so rare anyone thanked him for anything. Rumple watched her a moment before turning out the lights. He couldn't help thinking Bae would have loved knowing Lucy, and been proud of her.


End file.
